Page 23 of Savage Fate

I shook the dangerous voice off and took a bite of my wrap as if Roxie’s presence didn’t bother me.

“Who invited you to this table?” Kortney flipped off the other female raven. “Shouldn’t you be kissing Captain Gia’s ass so she doesn’t fire you?”

Had Gia caught onto Roxie’s Rapture addiction? We were allowed to have fun, but guzzling down mystical drugs and hooking up with nightworlders was definitely frowned upon.

“Shut up, Kortney. This is none of your business.” Her attention swiveled to Axel. “And don’t tell me you’ve fallen for Tate’s bullshit and want to worship the ground she walks on again.”

Axel sneered. “What I do is none of your business, Roxie. You act like you’re a high-ranking raven when you’ve been demoted to the lowest position possible. Coltrane isn’t here anymore, and Hawk couldn’t give two shits about you.”

“After the way you treated him, who could blame him?” I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut. Getting into a fight with Roxie was a bad idea, but she knew how to push my buttons.

An embarrassed flush pooled in her cheeks. “Why can’t you just disappear? After you became a shifter, you should have stayed away like any other former raven would have.”

“I actually care about this organization and what it’s supposed to stand for even if I’m not in it.” She had no business being a raven. Why did she sign up for it in the first place? The girl literally had no desire to protect anyone except herself.

Roxie’s nostrils flared as her anger scented the air. “I’m not afraid of you, Tate. You’re just a waste of space nightworlder who needs to be taken out.” A vicious smile curved her mouth as she leaned toward me to whisper in my ear. “Maybe after you’re dead, I’ll comfort Fane like I did Hawk.”

The vile meaning in her words had a blood-red haze streaking across my vision. Fane would never touch her, but the image she projected into my mind was enough to have my control snapping.And then that damn voice had to push me even further.

Are you going to let her threaten you? If you had me, you wouldn’t hesitate to show her real fear.

I stood from my chair so fast it knocked over and slid across the slick hardwoods. Roxie didn’t have time to react before I slammed my fist into her jaw, blood spurting across the table from her split lip.

“Keep my mate’s name out of your fucking mouth,” I warned, my voice low, each syllable wrapped in barbed wire as my wolf drew closer. “Or you’ll regret ever meeting me.”

Kortney and Axel stood, poised to intervene while everyone else remained glued to their seats. Maybe they were afraid of me, or maybe they just didn’t care if Roxie got her ass handed to her by a shifter.

She spit a glob of blood on the floor and wiped ruby droplets from her chin. “You’re going to pay for that, Tate.”

“You came over here and started with me.” I rolled my shoulders and cracked my knuckles, longing to give her two black eyes. “No one threatens to harm or touch Fane without consequences.” As a sinister smile pulled my lips apart, my canines sharpened.

Roxie scoffed. “You’re not going to attack me in Corvin Manor in front of all these witnesses.”

“As everyone can see, you provoked me first.” I raised my voice so it echoed through the dining hall loud enough that everyone heard.

She peered around, noticing the attention and realizing no one was coming to her defense. Her teeth clenched, and I could see the move coming as she reached for the back of a chair.

Idiot.

I ducked as Roxie lifted the chair and swung it at me with a battle cry. The wood hit the ground, breaking and scattering. She didn’t stop there, though. The unhinged raven grabbed the bottle of hot sauce and threw it at me.

Again, I moved, and it sailed through the air, shattering on a wall and sending ravens scattering. Blood pumped through my veins as I blocked her fist, grabbed her throat, and slammed her against the table. A loud growl clawed up my throat as my talons sprouted and pupils thinned into diamonds.

“Don’t think for a second I can’t rip your throat out, Roxie.” The urge to do just that coiled around every muscle, and it took a shit ton of control to hold back. “You’re lucky I actually have morals, unlike you.”

Axel cursed and inched toward us. “Uh, Tate, maybe you should let her go.”

“Maybe Roxie should apologize for being such a hateful bitch,” Kortney said, grinning from ear to ear. “She’s been horrible to Tate.”

“Don’t instigate this, Tran,” Axel hissed. “I’m trying to defuse the situation.”

Tremors ran through Roxie as terror perfumed the air around her. “G-get off me,” she muttered, the color draining from her face.

Had the amulet been inside of me, would I have breached her mind and brought a fear to life? Would I have devoured the delicious energy her fright created?

Yes, I most definitely would have and reveled in every minute of her torment.

Don’t you miss that? Don’t you want to feel it again?

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